with God single-heartedly , as His suffering servant ( cf . Is 53:1-12 ); iii and uniquely as His Divine Mercy messenger . 6 Just like the Blessed Mother and the canonized Saints , she lived heroically to be fully conformed to God ’ s will . 7 Amid great torment of body and soul , she reached full transformed union by the Blessed Trinity , an extraordinary favor of sanctification of a soul by God that is consistent with the early Greek Christian concept of theosis . 8 The way she matured spiritually to reach sainthood ; how she loved God first ; how she endured great suffering in God ’ s will , especially for the Divine Mercy mission ; and her child-like trust in Him and His Church ; help in the understanding of the mystery of human suffering in Christian-Catholic spirituality . 9
Her Diary highlights her great interior battles as a favored soul ; yet , in a most tender and loving intimacy with Jesus - her Director , Model , Teacher , Spouse , King , and Lord , 10 who often came “ unveiled , as if face to face ” ( Diary , # 1600 ). He is the same Suffering Servant in the Scriptures ( Is 53:2-9 ; Diary , # 267 ) iv and the God of Mercy and Love in her Diary . 11 The depth and beauty of the theology of her Diary belie her little schooling and the linguistic simplicity of her writing ( Diary , xii ). But this paradox argues as a signpost of a clear Divine plan ; while also highlighting the spiritual height that she reached ( Diary , xvi ; Addenda , 707 ).
Despite setbacks , the Church lifted the ban on her Diary on April 15 , 1978 ( Diary , Endnotes , 666 ). Spearheaded by Pope St . John Paul II , a Divine Mercy devotee , the Church canonized her as Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska on April 30 , 2000 ( Diary , xliv ). Her feast day is on October 5 , which commemorates her death , as well as celebrates her birth into the eternal
6 Ibid ., Faustina , Diary , # 400 , 417 , 438 , 459 , 476 , 498 , 531 , 1593 , 1605 , 1693 , 1690 , 1691 , 1142 , 893 . 7 Ibid ., Faustina , Diary , # 1394 ; Sisters of Mercy , Member of the Order of Mercy ., transl . A Year of the Saints :
Union . ( Illinois : Reprinted by Tan Books and Publishers , Inc ., 1983 ), 337-364 . 8 Ibid ., Faustina , Diary , # 27 , 392 , 707 , 582 , 883-887 , 891 , 911 , 923 , 994 , 1001 , 1073 , 1129 , 1278 , 1334 , xviii ;
Addendum , 706 ; New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia , s . v . “ Mysticism .” http :// www . newadvent . org / cathen / 10663b . htm ( Internet Accessed December 15 , 2015 ), 1-prg 3 . 9 Ibid ., Faustina , Diary , # 1605 , 1333 , 1358-1366 , 1372 , 1374 , 1691 , 302-306 , 582 , xv-xix , xxxv . 10 Ibid ., Faustina , Diary , # 362 , 584 , 659 , 1019-1021 , 1628 , 1701 , 1709 , 74 , 88 , 367 , 438 , 694 , 876 , 392 , 854 , 873 . 11 Ibid ., Faustina , Diary , # 1602 , 687 , 699 , 1363-1365 , 1300 , 1146 , 1190 , 1209 , 48 , 206 , 300 , 441 , 687 , 699 , 836 .
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